"Gulp..."
After listening to the story told by Akisame Koetsuji, Okabe swallowed hard. An image appeared in his mind: two brothers fighting over a woman, turning against each other and coming to blows.
"You should be able to guess the plot that follows."
"That woman was a lobbyist sent by the Dark Culinary World to invite the old master back into their service. After the invitation failed, she set her sights on the old master's two adopted sons. I must say her methods were indeed superb, easily trapping the two men in a honey trap and getting them to agree to serve the Dark Culinary World."
Looking at the shocked expression on Okabe's face, Akisame Koetsuji continued.
"But what does this have to do with the responsibility one must bear after learning the White Luo Snake Coiling Chain?"
Okabe's voice held a hint of doubt. Since both adopted sons joined the Dark Culinary World, even if they walked a crooked path, they shouldn't have turned against each other...
"Of course there is. That old man who raised the twins had a resounding title in the land of Huaxia..."
"The King of Dim Sum, Luo Gen!"
Akisame Koetsuji pronounced the old man's title with cadence, his gaze sharp as he looked at Okabe.
"After the two brothers joined the Dark Culinary World, they immediately began working under the woman's leadership and spent a relatively happy time together. But gradually, the older of the two brothers began to sense something was wrong during the execution of mission after mission."
"He discovered that this so-called Dark Culinary World engaged in filthy business—forcing good people into prostitution, using cooking to plunder others' life savings, and committing countless evils of all kinds. This plunged him into deep self-reproach, and he finally chose to defect from the Dark Culinary World."
"While the younger of the twins also sensed something was wrong, the woman he longed for had become his wife and was pregnant with his flesh and blood, so he became a loyal running dog of the Dark Culinary World."
"Time passes and circumstances change; people are no longer the same."
"Regardless of how the ancestors were, the inheritors of both sides have already taken root, belonging respectively to the camps of Light and Darkness, becoming thoroughly opposing existences."
"And I am the disciple's great-great-grandson of the elder brother who escaped. It has been passed down for five generations now."
"With each generation, both sides will have their respective inheritors engage in a best-of-three duel upon reaching adulthood. At that time, the world's top dim sum masters will be invited as judges to witness this contest. The victor will obtain the Shu Han Old Dough passed down by the King of Dim Sum, Luo Gen. The loser is forbidden from active duty in the world until the next generation of disciples determines a winner."
Akisame Koetsuji sighed softly.
This punishment is neither too heavy nor too light. For those with great ambition who wish to establish unworldly merit and achieve a name that lasts for a thousand autumns, there is no crueler punishment than this. But if one is naturally a person who lies flat and rots, this punishment appears completely powerless.
"Then..."
"I won, otherwise I wouldn't be here."
"However, fifteen years ago, I heard that he and his wife conceived a son in a secret realm. The child awakened the 'Super Sense of Touch' at birth; he is an extremely talented fellow."
Looking at Okabe, who wanted to speak but stopped, Akisame Koetsuji understood what he wanted to say and continued speaking.
"Having heard this story, I think you should understand the responsibility entailed in accepting the White Luo Snake Coiling Chain. Even so, do you still want to accept this inheritance?"
Akisame Koetsuji gazed at Okabe, staring straight into his pupils, seemingly ready to turn and leave if he sensed even a trace of wavering.
"I do. I should say, please, by all means, let me accept it!"
Okabe nodded solemnly.
He hadn't expected such deep origins within. Akisame Koetsuji hadn't taught him advanced dim sum techniques all this time likely because he didn't want him wading into these muddy waters.
However, the King of Dim Sum, Luo Gen, was already looking senile when he fought Master Xie, yet at that age, he could still raise two infants. Such an existence is more or less terrifying...
"I originally intended never to accept a disciple in my life, letting the grudge between the two inheritors end completely with my generation."
Looking at Okabe's determined eyes, Akisame Koetsuji fell silent for a moment, then turned and walked to the cooking station, grabbing the rolling pin on the pastry board.
"But I met you."
"Even if I don't teach you the White Luo Snake Coiling Chain, there is a high probability you could comprehend it on your own, it would just waste a lot of time."
He poured a ladle of clear water into the flour, pointing the rolling pin at the edge of the flour.
"And as long as you comprehend the White Luo Snake Coiling Chain, even if I don't acknowledge you as my successor, that guy won't accept it. Rather than you being caught off guard and exhausted from coping with it then, it is better for me to teach you now."
"Dough is not kneaded by strength. It relies on the rotating movement of the fingers, the rotating movement of the arms, plus the rotating movement of the stick..."
Circling the edge of the flour, the speed of the rolling pin shifted from slow to fast, until finally, only the shadow of the rod could be seen, and the dough, already formed into a mass, rotated at high speed on the board.
"In other words, the mastery of dim sum techniques lies in rotation. How large an amplitude of rotation you can perform, how deep a rotation—from this, a dim sum master's strength can be seen."
As his voice fell, a strong wind suddenly generated within the sealed room, making the surroundings rustle loudly. This was brought about by the high-speed rotation of the rolling pin.
However, this strong wind was somewhat different from the wind generated when Shell wielded his steel staff; this wind was firmly locked within a one-meter range of the pastry board.
"Hah!"
As the feeling in his hands fell into place, Akisame Koetsuji gave a low shout and held the rolling pin, which was rotating on the board, high up. A white noodle snake immediately soared into the air.
"This is the secret technique of the White Lo Snake family: White Luo Snake Coiling Chain!"
Akisame Koetsuji's voice fell, seeing that Okabe was staring at him the whole time—or to be precise, staring at the dough in front of him, watching it constantly spiral in the air.
"I see. Utilizing the centrifugal force generated during rotation, repeatedly executing the procedure of stretching the dough to knead it until smooth and soft."
Okabe muttered to himself.
He knew the White Luo Snake Coiling Chain required the power of rotation to execute, but he only knew to use rotational force, not the specific extent.
After mastering the Wheel Rotation Kneading Method, it wasn't that he hadn't tried to reverse-engineer the White Luo Snake Coiling Chain, but unfortunately, he failed every time; the dough simply wouldn't fly. Oh no, there were instances where it flew. It was just a pity it didn't fly upwards, but rather in all directions. Sometimes it plastered a wall, sometimes the floor, and he was forced to stop after wasting quite a bit of dough.
But now, as Akisame Koetsuji performed this move, he saw the true White Luo Snake Coiling Chain. The dough transformed into the shape of a spirit snake flicking its tongue, recklessly baring its fangs and brandishing its claws in the air. The body of the dough rotated constantly, rotating from left to right, from bottom to top, and its internal structure became chewy and fine during this process.
"Come and touch it."
This process lasted for a full ten minutes. Only when beads of sweat appeared on Akisame Koetsuji's forehead did he let the white snake in the sky fall back onto the board.
"Okay."
Okabe nodded slightly, stepped in front of him, and reached out to press down on the dough.
The moment his fingertips touched the dough, his pupils contracted slightly.
This texture... was too incredible. The surface of the dough was smooth as silk, yet carried just the right amount of resilience. Pressing gently, he could feel the uniform porous structure inside, as if this wasn't a lump of dead dough, but a living creature.
"This elasticity... is simply too astonishing!"
Okabe muttered: "Under the touch of the fingers, the dough rises and falls, as if it were an infant breathing. Wait, this is living dough!?"
Suddenly, his eyes widened. The dough under his hand began to expand shortly after he touched it, doubling in size in the blink of an eye.
"How is this possible? The dough fermented so quickly; it expanded in an instant!"
Okabe wore a look of disbelief, then turned to look at Akisame Koetsuji, only to see the other party unhurriedly take out a jar from under the stove.
"I see, Master Akisame, you won the dim sum duel between successors, so the Shu Han Old Dough should rightfully be in your hands! However, logically speaking, shouldn't using old dough to leaven flour be slower than commercial yeast..."
Looking at the white dough Akisame Koetsuji took out of the jar, Okabe revealed a look of sudden realization, though a trace of doubt remained between his brows.
He had made old dough before.
Unlike the singular, high efficiency of commercial yeast, the wild yeast strains contained in old dough are diverse. The fermentation speed is slow, but the flavor layers are richer.
However, the Shu Han Old Dough held by Akisame Koetsuji broke this characteristic; the fermentation speed was even faster than commercial yeast, rising the dough in an instant.
"That is true for ordinary old dough, but this is Old Dough with a thousand years of history, passed down from the Shu Han period. Over these thousand-plus years, it has been held by one dim sum master after another and taken to various places. Using flour with local characteristics, through repeated devouring and evolution, the flora contained within became increasingly rich—something ordinary old dough cannot compare to—and among them are flora that accelerate fermentation."
Facing Okabe's query, Akisame Koetsuji replied with a bland expression.
The reason Shu Han Old Dough is fought over by those dim sum masters worthy of being called heroes is precisely because it possesses a super-rich flora that ordinary old dough does not have.
And it is the only one of its kind in the world, impossible to replicate.
Only by using the dough crock that carries the Shu Han Old Dough legacy can the dough fermented with Shu Han Old Dough be turned back into Shu Han Old Dough. If you change the container, it will turn into ordinary old dough after a few uses.
In other words. The truly magical part of the Shu Han Old Dough is not the old dough itself, but the dough crock that holds it!
As long as the environment inside the crock remains, given a little time, countless amounts of Shu Han Old Dough can be propagated.
"This is for you."
"Although you can't use it many times, it is incomparably precious. Find a dough crock to store it in. Remember to cherish it well and feed it every once in a while."
As he spoke, Akisame Koetsuji tossed the Shu Han Old Dough he had just taken out to Okabe.
"Yes, Master Akisame."
Watching the dough flying through the sky, Okabe subconsciously reached out and caught it in his hand.
Then he bent down and took out a small dough crock from under the stove, which still contained a small amount of flour; these would serve as food for the Shu Han Old Dough.
"Steam the rest of this into mantou for tomorrow's breakfast."
Seeing Okabe cleanly accept the old dough and put it into the crock, Akisame Koetsuji looked down at the pastry board; by now, the dough had completely expanded.
Without hesitation, he took a portion of the dough and threw it back into the dough crock, then used the Wheel Rotation Kneading Method to knead the dough evenly, rolled it into long strips, and cut it into small portions. The cut dough was kneaded into fist-sized balls, then placed in the steamer and covered.
"You go back first. I have to wait for the mantou to proof a second time before I can turn on the fire. Starting today, come over after dinner; I'll be waiting for you in the Dim Sum Workshop."
"Although you have mastered the Wheel Rotation Kneading Method, the difficulty of the White Luo Snake Coiling Chain is more than a hundred times higher than the Wheel Rotation Kneading Method. Wanting the dough to rotate constantly in the air like a spirit snake requires extremely high skill. It is no exaggeration to say that I studied this move for a full three years."
"Yes! I will come."
Hearing Akisame Koetsuji's words, Okabe nodded heavily in response.
It was already the early hours of the morning when he left the Dim Sum Workshop.
However, when Okabe returned to his room, he found the lights on and the faint sound of girls chatting coming from inside, so he suppressed his footsteps and walked over.
"Hisako, Erina, what are you two doing here instead of going back to your rooms?"
Pushing open the door and looking at the three people sitting on his bed chatting and laughing occasionally, Okabe moved a chair over to sit down, asking with doubt in his voice.
"We came to bring you something. Here, the admission notice for Totsuki Teahouse Culinary Academy. Grandpa specifically instructed me to deliver this to your hands personally. I thought about giving you a surprise after the stall closed today, but I didn't expect to run into Shell halfway. The atmosphere was so heavy then that I really didn't have a chance to speak. Later, you were kept behind alone by Master Akisame. We couldn't wait for you, so we had to come to your room..."
Hearing the movement at the door, Erina Nakiri took out the Totsuki admission notice she had prepared under the pillow long ago, her words carrying a sense of helplessness.
"Always sending useless things."
Okabe subconsciously complained, then realized something was wrong, so he reached out his hand toward Erina Nakiri: "Let me see what it's about."
"Tch..."
"Totsuki Academy is the number one culinary institute in Japan, after all. Even looking at the world, it ranks among the best. Show a little more excitement!"
Handing the admission notice to Okabe and seeing his indifferent expression, Erina Nakiri couldn't help but introduce Totsuki Academy to him.
That was the culinary hall of fame that countless young chefs yearned for; how many people broke their heads and fought fiercely just to compete for an admission spot?
"How does it compare to Ryozanpaku?"
"Well, it is indeed somewhat inferior..."
Okabe's words choked Erina Nakiri, and she scratched her hair awkwardly. Ryozanpaku possessed six Special-Grade Chefs, and they weren't ordinary Special-Grade Chefs either. In terms of faculty strength, perhaps no school could compare to Ryozanpaku.
"Exactly. Is there really any need for us to go to Totsuki? Playing house with a group of weaklings won't lead to improvement even if we compete for half a session."
Okabe sniffed at it and put down the Totsuki admission notice in his hand.
If Totsuki had invited him a few years ago, it might have been possible; after all, the other party was indeed the world's top culinary academy, the best platform for chefs without a background to hone their cooking skills.
But now that he had learned martial arts and his cooking skills were unfathomable, what was the difference between going there and visiting the newbie village wearing max-level gear? Apart from being able to show off, it had no meaning.
Because the Sword of Damocles that was the Dark Culinary World hung over his head, Okabe didn't want to waste too much time on meaningless things.
"What you say isn't without reason..."
"No."
"There are quite a few talented fellows in this batch. Grandpa and the Nakiri and Tadokoro families have personally traveled all over the world in the past few years, finding many youths with extraordinary talents in the culinary field, and gathered them all at Totsuki Academy to become students in the same year as us."
Erina Nakiri was just about to agree with Okabe, but soon she shook her head again, the conversation Senzaemon Nakiri had with her a few days ago surfacing in her mind.
Gathering the vast majority of chefs with powerful talents in the world to create the best training environment in history; the weak can only become grindstones for the strong.
This plan is named the Generation of Jade!
"Finding young geniuses from various countries and gathering them at Totsuki Academy? That is quite interesting; maybe I can really encounter opponents with strength..."
Erina Nakiri's words plunged Okabe into a brief silence.
He had been a bit preconceived just now.
This world wasn't the original Shokugeki no Soma; it fused Chuuka Ichiban and History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi, so the geniuses were definitely not limited to the few in the original work.
The descendants of those legendary chefs from Chuuka Ichiban. The claws and teeth of the Dark Culinary World. And the original protagonists of Shokugeki no Soma.
Geniuses from all forces gathering at Totsuki under Senzaemon Nakiri's invitation to unfold Shokugeki duels one after another, using this to polish their culinary arts.
Just thinking of such a scene, Okabe felt his blood boil, and his body couldn't help but tremble.
"Precisely because of this, I handed this admission notice to you. What you need now shouldn't be basic practice, but experience in culinary duels, right!"
Sensing the change in Okabe's expression, Erina Nakiri struck while the iron was hot.
Although staying within Ryozanpaku allowed for close personal instruction from famous masters, sturdy pines don't grow in flower pots, and eagles don't fly out of birdcages. Without undergoing tempering, one can never become a true powerhouse.
"You're right, but I have to discuss it with the Elder and the others. You'd better tell them too; leaving without saying goodbye is a great taboo."
Putting away the admission notice with his name on it solemnly, Okabe looked at Erina Nakiri and spoke; his heart had already made a decision.
"We already told them. The Elder supports our decision very much. He even told us that being young means we should temper ourselves more, otherwise being invincible in the future will be lonely..."
Hearing Okabe's words, Erina Nakiri understood that this matter was settled. Her face immediately revealed an excited expression, and her small fist waved excitedly.
"Looking at it this way, I'm the one who got the news last."
"Sorry."
"No need to apologize, I don't blame you."
Okabe shook his head with a bitter smile and didn't dwell on this matter too much.
Since geniuses are gathering at Totsuki.
Then he would be the genius among geniuses, turning all these geniuses into stepping stones for his climb to the peak.
"I hope they can let me enjoy myself to the fullest when the time comes..."
Watching Erina Nakiri and Hisako Arato stand up to say goodbye, as well as Ikaros who was obediently hugging a pillow, Okabe muttered to himself.
____
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